Thickness measurement of substrate using color metrology

ABSTRACT

A system for obtaining a measurement representative of a thickness of a layer on a substrate includes a support to hold a substrate, an optical assembly to capture two color images with light impinging the substrate at different angles of incidence, and a controller. The controller is configured to store a function that provides a value representative of a thickness as a function of position along a predetermined path in a coordinate space of at least four dimensions. For a pixel in the two color images, the controller determines a coordinate in the coordinate space from the color data, determines a position of a point on the predetermined path that is closest to the coordinate, and calculates a value representative of a thickness from the function and the position of the point on the predetermined path.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.14/942,777, filed Nov. 16, 2015. This application also claims priorityto U.S. Application Ser. No. 62/802,662, filed on Feb. 7, 2019. Thedisclosure of both applications are incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to optical metrology, e.g., to detect thethickness of a layer on a substrate.

BACKGROUND

An integrated circuit is typically formed on a substrate by thesequential deposition of conductive, semiconductive, or insulativelayers on a silicon wafer. One fabrication step involves depositing afiller layer over a non-planar surface and planarizing the filler layer.For certain applications, the filler layer is planarized until the topsurface of a patterned layer is exposed. A conductive filler layer, forexample, can be deposited on a patterned insulative layer to fill thetrenches or holes in the insulative layer. After planarization, theportions of the metallic layer remaining between the raised pattern ofthe insulative layer form vias, plugs, and lines that provide conductivepaths between thin film circuits on the substrate. For otherapplications, a filler layer is deposited over an underlying topologyprovided by other layers, and the filler layer is planarized until apredetermined thickness remains. For example, a dielectric filler layercan be deposited over a patterned metal layer and planarized to provideinsulation between the metal regions and to provide a planar surface forfurther photolithography.

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is one accepted method ofplanarization. This planarization method typically requires that thesubstrate be mounted on a carrier or polishing head. The exposed surfaceof the substrate is typically placed against a rotating polishing pad.The carrier head provides a controllable load on the substrate to pushit against the polishing pad. An abrasive polishing slurry is typicallysupplied to the surface of the polishing pad.

Variations in the slurry distribution, the polishing pad condition, therelative speed between the polishing pad and the substrate, and the loadon the substrate can cause variations in the material removal rate.These variations, as well as variations in the initial thickness of thesubstrate layer, cause variations in the time needed to reach thepolishing endpoint. Therefore, determining the polishing endpoint merelyas a function of polishing time can lead to overpolishing orunderpolishing of the substrate.

Various optical metrology systems, e.g., spectrographic orellipsometric, can be used to measure the thickness of the substratelayer pre-polishing and post-polishing, e.g., at an in-line orstand-along metrology station. In addition, various in-situ monitoringtechniques, such as monochromatic optical or eddy current monitoring,can be used to detect a polishing endpoint.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a system for obtaining a measurement representative of athickness of a layer on a substrate includes a support to hold asubstrate for integrated circuit fabrication, an optical assembly tocapture a first color image of at least a portion of the substrate heldby the support with light impinging the substrate at a first angle ofincidence and a second color image of the at least a portion of thesubstrate held by the support with light impinging the substrate at adifferent second angle of incidence, and a controller. The controller isconfigured to receive the first color image and the second color imagefrom the optical assembly, store a function that provides a valuerepresentative of a thickness as a function of position along apredetermined path in a coordinate space of at least four dimensionsincluding a first color channel and a second color channel from thefirst color image and a third color channel and a fourth color channelfrom the second color image, for a pixel of the first color image and acorresponding pixel in the second color image determine a coordinate inthe coordinate space from color data in the first color image for thepixel and the color data in the second color image for the correspondingpixel, determine a position of a point on the predetermined path that isclosest to the coordinate, and calculate a value representative of athickness from the function and the position of the point on thepredetermined path.

In other aspects, a computer program includes instructions for causing aprocessor to perform the operations of the controller, and a method ofpolishing includes positioning a substrate for integrated circuitfabrication in view of a color camera, generating a color image of thesubstrate from the color camera; and performing the operations.

Implementations of any of the aspects may include one or more of thefollowing features.

The coordinate space may be four-dimensional or the coordinate space maybe six-dimensional. The first color channel and the second color channelmay be selected from the group of color channels comprising hue,saturation, luminosity, X, Y, Z, red chromaticity, green chromaticity,and blue chromaticity for the first color image. The third color channeland the fourth color channel may be selected from the group of colorchannels comprising hue, saturation, luminosity, X, Y, Z, redchromaticity, green chromaticity, and blue chromaticity for the secondcolor image. The first color channel and third color channel may be redchromaticities, and the second color channel and the fourth colorchannel may be green chromaticities.

The first angle of incidence and the second angle of incidence may bothbe between about 20° to 85°. The first angle of incidence may be atleast 5°, e.g., at least 10°, larger than the second angle of incidence.

In another aspect, a polishing system includes a polishing stationincluding a platen to support a polishing pad, a support to hold asubstrate, an in-line metrology station to measure the substrate beforeor after polishing of a surface of the substrate in the polishingstation, and a controller. The in-line metrology station includes one ormore elongated white light sources each having a longitudinal axis andconfigured to direct light toward the substrate at a non-zero incidenceangle to form an illuminated region on the substrate that extends alonga first axis during scanning of the substrate, a first color line-scancamera having detector elements arranged to receive light reflected fromthe substrate that impinged the substrate at a first angle of incidenceand form an image portion that extends along the first axis duringscanning of the substrate, a second color line-scan camera havingdetector elements arranged to receive light reflected from the substratethat impinged the substrate at a different, second angle of incidenceand form a second image portion that extends along the first axis duringscanning of the substrate, a frame supporting the one or more lightsources, the first color line-scan camera and the second color line-scancamera, and a motor to cause relative motion between the frame and thesupport along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis to cause theone or more light sources, the first color line-scan camera and thesecond color line-scan camera to scan across the substrate. Thecontroller is configured to receive color data from the first colorline-scan camera and the second color line-scan camera, to generate afirst 2-dimensional color image from color data from the first colorline-scan camera and generate a second 2-dimensional color image fromcolor data from the second color line-scan camera, and to controlpolishing at the polishing station based on the first 2-dimensionalcolor image and the second 2-dimensional color image.

In other aspects, a computer program includes instructions for causing aprocessor to perform the operations of the controller, and a method ofpolishing includes positioning a substrate for integrated circuitfabrication in view of a color camera, generating a color image of thesubstrate from the color camera; and performing the operations.

Implementations of any of the aspects may include one or more of thefollowing features.

One or more diffusers may be positioned in a path of light between theone or more elongated white light sources and the substrate.

The first angle of incidence and the second angle of incidence may bothbe between about 5° and 85°, e.g., both be between about 20° and 75°.The first angle of incidence may be at least 5° larger, e.g., at least10° larger, than the second angle of incidence. The first colorline-scan camera and the second line-scan camera may be configured toimage a coincident region on the substrate. The one or more elongatedlight sources may include a first elongated light source to generate thelight that impinges the substrate at the first angle of incidence and asecond elongated light source to generate the light that impinges thesubstrate at the second angle of incidence. Light from the first lightsource and light from the second light source may impinge an overlappingregion, e.g., a coincident region, on the substrate.

The frame may be fixed and the motor may be coupled to the support andthe controller may be configured to cause the motor to move the supportwhile the one or more elongated light sources and the first color linescan camera and second color line scan camera remain stationary to scanacross the substrate.

Implementations can include one or more of the following potentialadvantages. The accuracy of a thickness measurement can be improved.This information can be used in a feed-forward or feed-back use tocontrol polishing parameters, providing improved thickness uniformity.The algorithm to determine variations can be simple and have lowcomputational load.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other aspects, featuresand advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, andfrom the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic view of an example of an in-line opticalmeasurement system.

FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic view of an example of an in-situ opticalmeasurement system.

FIG. 1C illustrates a schematic view of an example of a portion of ameasurement system.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for a method of determining layer thickness.

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a substrate.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a mask.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graph showing evolution of color of lightreflected from a substrate in a coordinate space of two color channels.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example graph showing a predetermined path in thecoordinate space of two color channels.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for a method of determining layer thickness fromcolor image data.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example graph showing a histogram in thecoordinate space of two color channels derived from a color image of atest substrate.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate example graphs showing histograms in thecoordinate space of two color channels, before and after colorcorrection, respectively.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The thickness of a layer on a substrate can be optically measured beforeor after polishing, e.g., at an in-line or stand-alone metrologystation, or during polishing, e.g., with an in-situ monitoring system.However, some optical techniques such as spectrometry require expensivespectrographs and computationally heavy manipulation of spectra data.Even apart from computational load, in some situations the algorithmresults do not meet the ever increasing accuracy requirements of theuser.

One measurement technique is to take a color image of the substrate, andanalyze the image in a color space to determine the thickness of thelayer. In particular, the position along a path in a 2-dimensional colorspace can provide information on the current state of polishing, e.g.,amount removed or amount of material remaining. However, in somesituations it can be difficult to resolve differences between the colorsin the image. By performing a color correction on the image, colorcontrast can be increased. As a result, thickness resolution can beenhanced, and the reliability and accuracy of the thickness measurementscan be improved.

A separate issue is that the path in the 2-dimensional color space canhave degeneracies. By increasing the dimensionality of the color space,the likelihood of degeneracy can be decreased. One technique is to use atype of camera, e.g., a hyperspectral camera, that generates imageshaving four or more, e.g., six to twenty, color channels. Anothertechniques is to use multiple cameras, but at different angles ofincidence (due to the different lengths of the light paths through thethin film layer at different angles of incidence, different infringementand thus different colors are generated).

Referring to FIG. 1, a polishing apparatus 100 includes an in-line (alsoreferred to as in-sequence) optical metrology system 160, e.g., a colorimaging system.

The polishing apparatus 100 includes one or more carrier heads 126, eachof which is configured to carry a substrate 10, one or more polishingstations 106, and a transfer station to load substrate to and unloadsubstrates from a carrier head. Each polishing station 106 includes apolishing pad 130 supported on a platen 120. The polishing pad 130 canbe a two-layer polishing pad with an outer polishing layer and a softerbacking layer.

The carrier heads 126 can be suspended from a support 128, and movablebetween the polishing stations. In some implementations, the support 128is an overhead track and the carrier heads 126 are coupled to a carriage108 that is mounted to the track. The overhead track 128 allows eachcarriage 108 to be selectively positioned over the polishing stations124 and the transfer station. Alternatively, in some implementations thesupport 128 is a rotatable carousel, and rotation of the carousel movesthe carrier heads 126 simultaneously along a circular path.

Each polishing station 106 of the polishing apparatus 100 can include aport, e.g., at the end of an arm 134, to dispense polishing liquid 136,such as abrasive slurry, onto the polishing pad 130. Each polishingstation 106 of the polishing apparatus 100 can also include padconditioning apparatus to abrade the polishing pad 130 to maintain thepolishing pad 130 in a consistent abrasive state.

Each carrier head 126 is operable to hold a substrate 10 against thepolishing pad 130. Each carrier head 126 can have independent control ofpolishing parameters, for example pressure, associated with eachrespective substrate. In particular, each carrier head 126 can include aretaining ring 142 to retain the substrate 10 below a flexible membrane144. Each carrier head 126 also includes a plurality of independentlycontrollable pressurizable chambers defined by the membrane, e.g., threechambers 146 a-146 c, which can apply independently controllablepressurizes to associated zones on the flexible membrane 144 and thus onthe substrate 10. Although only three chambers are illustrated in FIG. 1for ease of illustration, there could be one or two chambers, or four ormore chambers, e.g., five chambers.

Each carrier head 126 is suspended from the support 128, and isconnected by a drive shaft 154 to a carrier head rotation motor 156 sothat the carrier head can rotate about an axis 127. Optionally eachcarrier head 140 can oscillate laterally, e.g., by driving the carriage108 on the track 128, or by rotational oscillation of the carouselitself. In operation, the platen is rotated about its central axis 121,and each carrier head is rotated about its central axis 127 andtranslated laterally across the top surface of the polishing pad. Thelateral sweep is in a direction parallel to the polishing surface 212.The lateral sweep can be a linear or arcuate motion.

A controller 190, such as a programmable computer, is connected to eachmotor to independently control the rotation rate of the platen 120 andthe carrier heads 126. For example, each motor can include an encoderthat measures the angular position or rotation rate of the associateddrive shaft. Similarly, the controller 190 is connected to an actuatorin each carriage 108 and/or the rotational motor for the carousel toindependently control the lateral motion of each carrier head 126. Forexample, each actuator can include a linear encoder that measures theposition of the carriage 108 along the track 128.

The controller 190 can include a central processing unit (CPU), amemory, and support circuits, e.g., input/output circuitry, powersupplies, clock circuits, cache, and the like. The memory is connectedto the CPU. The memory is a non-transitory computable readable medium,and can be one or more readily available memory such as random accessmemory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk, hard disk, or otherform of digital storage. In addition, although illustrated as a singlecomputer, the controller 190 could be a distributed system, e.g.,including multiple independently operating processors and memories.

The in-line optical metrology system 160 is positioned within thepolishing apparatus 100, but does not perform measurements during thepolishing operation; rather measurements are collected between polishingoperations, e.g., while the substrate is being moved from one polishingstation to another or from or to the transfer station.

The in-line optical metrology system 160 includes a sensor assembly 161supported at a position between two of the polishing stations 106, e.g.,between two platens 120. In particular, the sensor assembly 161 islocated at a position such that a carrier head 126 supported by thesupport 128 can position the substrate 10 over the sensor assembly 161.

In implementations in which the polishing apparatus 100 include threepolishing stations and carries the substrates sequentially from thefirst polishing station to the second polishing station to the thirdpolishing station, one or more sensor assemblies 161 can be positionedbetween the transfer station and the first polishing station, betweenfirst and second polishing stations, between the second and thirdpolishing stations, and/or between the third polishing station and thetransfer station.

The sensor assembly 161 can include a light source 162, a light detector164, and circuitry 166 for sending and receiving signals between thecontroller 190 and the light source 162 and light detector 164.

The light source 162 can be operable to emit white light. In oneimplementation, the white light emitted includes light havingwavelengths of 200-800 nanometers. A suitable light source is an arrayof white-light light emitting diodes (LEDs), or a xenon lamp or a xenonmercury lamp. The light source 162 is oriented to direct light 168 ontothe exposed surface of the substrate 10 at a non-zero angle of incidenceα. The angle of incidence α can be, for example, about 30° to 75°, e.g.,50°.

The light source can illuminate a substantially linear elongated regionthat spans the width of the substrate 10. For the light source can 162can include optics, e.g., a beam expander, to spread the light from thelight source into an elongated region. Alternatively or in addition, thelight source 162 can include a linear array of light sources. The lightsource 162 itself, and the region illuminated on the substrate, canelongated and have a longitudinal axis parallel to the surface of thesubstrate.

The light 168 from the light source 168 can be partially collimated.

A diffuser 170 can be placed in the path of the light 168, or the lightsource 162 can include a diffuser, to diffuse the light before itreaches the substrate 10.

The detector 164 can be a color camera that is sensitive to light fromthe light source 162. The detector 164 includes an array of detectorelements 178 for each color channel. For example, the detector 164 caninclude a CCD array for each color channel. In some implementations, thearray is a single row of detector elements 178. For example, the cameracan be a linescan camera. The row of detector elements can extendparallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongated region illuminated bythe light source 162, or perpendicular to the direction of motion of theilluminated region across the substrate (FIG. 1A illustratesschematically the elements 178, but they would be arranged in a lineextending out of the plane of the drawing). In some implementations, thedetector is a prism-based color camera. A prism inside the detector 164splits the light beam 168 into three separate beams, each of which issent to a separate array of detector elements.

Where the light source 162 includes a row of light emitting elements,the row of detector elements can extend along a first axis parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the light source 162. A row of detectorelements can include 1024 or more elements.

The determination of parallel or perpendicular in positioning of the rowof detector elements should take into account reflection of the lightbeam, e.g., by a fold mirror or from a prism face.

The detector 164 is configured with appropriate focusing optics 172 toproject a field of view of the substrate onto the array of detectorelements 178. The field of view can be long enough to view the entirewidth of the substrate 10, e.g., 150 to 300 mm long. The sensor assembly161, including detector 164 and associated optics 172, can be configuredsuch that individual pixels correspond to a region having a length equalto or less than about 0.5 mm. For example, assuming that the field ofview is about 200 mm long and the detector 164 includes 1024 elements,then an image generated by the linescan camera can have pixels with alength of about 0.5 mm. To determine the length resolution of the image,the length of the field of view (FOV) can be divided by the number ofpixels onto which the FOV is imaged to arrive at a length resolution.

The detector 164 can be also be configured such that the pixel width iscomparable to the pixel length. For example, an advantage of a linescancamera is its very fast frame rate. The frame rate can be at least 5kHz. The frame rate can be set at a frequency such that as the imagedarea scans across the substrate 10, the pixel width is comparable to thepixel length, e.g., equal to or less than about 0.3 mm. For example, thepixel width and length can be about 0.1 to 0.2 mm.

The light source 162 and the light detector 164 can be supported on astage 180. Where the light detector 164 is a line-scan camera, the lightsource 162 and camera 164 are movable relative to the substrate 10 suchthat the imaged area can scan across the length of the substrate. Inparticular, the relative motion can be in a direction parallel to thesurface of the substrate 10 and perpendicular to the row of detectorelements of the linescan camera 164.

In some implementations, the stage 182 is stationary, and the carrierhead 126 moves, e.g., either by motion of the carriage 108 or byrotational oscillation of the carousel. In some implementations, thestage 180 is movable while the carrier head 126 remains stationary forthe image acquisition. For example, the stage 180 can be movable along arail 184 by a linear actuator 182. In either case, this permits thelight source 162 and camera 164 to stay in a fixed position relative toeach other as the area being scanned moves across the substrate 10.

In addition, the substrate could be held by a robot and moved past astationary optical assembly 161. For example, in the case of a cassetteinterface unit or other factor interface unit, the substrate can be heldby a robot that is used to transfer the substrates to or from a cassette(rather than being supported on a separate stage). The light detectorcan be a stationary element, e.g., a line scan camera, in the cassetteinterface unit, and the robot can move the substrate past the lightdetector to scan the substrate to generate the image.

A possible advantage of having a line-scan camera and light source thatmove together across the substrate is that, e.g., as compared to aconventional 2D camera, the relative angle between the light source andthe camera remains constant for different positions across the wafer.Consequently, artifacts caused by variation in the viewing angle can bereduced or eliminated. In addition, a line scan camera can eliminateperspective distortion, whereas a conventional 2D camera exhibitsinherent perspective distortion, which then needs to be corrected by animage transformation.

The sensor assembly 161 can include a mechanism to adjust verticaldistance between the substrate 10 and the light source 162 and detector164. For example, the sensor assembly 161 can an actuator to adjust thevertical position of the stage 180.

Optionally a polarizing filter 174 can be positioned in the path of thelight, e.g., between the substrate 10 and the detector 164. Thepolarizing filter 184 can be a circular polarizer (CPL). A typical CPLis a combination of a linear polarizer and quarter wave plate. Properorientation of the polarizing axis of the polarizing filter 184 canreduce haze in the image and sharpen or enhance desirable visualfeatures.

One or more baffles 188 can be placed near the detector 164 to preventstray or ambient light from reaching the detector 164 (see FIG. 1C). Forexample, the baffles can extend generally parallel to the light beam 168and around the region where the light beam enters the detector 164. Inaddition, the detector 164 can have a narrow acceptance angle, e.g., 1to 10°. These mechanisms can improve image quality by reducing theimpact of stray or ambient light.

Assuming that the outermost layer on the substrate is a semitransparentlayer, e.g., a dielectric layer, the color of light detected at detector164 depends on, e.g., the composition of the substrate surface,substrate surface smoothness, and/or the amount of interference betweenlight reflected from different interfaces of one or more layers (e.g.,dielectric layers) on the substrate.

As noted above, the light source 162 and light detector 164 can beconnected to a computing device, e.g., the controller 190, operable tocontrol their operation and receive their signals.

The in-line optical metrology system 160 is positioned within thepolishing apparatus 100, but does not perform measurements during thepolishing operation; rather measurements are collected between polishingoperations, e.g., while the substrate is being moved from one polishingstation to another or from or to the transfer station.

The in-line optical metrology system 160 includes a sensor assembly 161supported at a position between two of the polishing stations 106, e.g.,between two platens 120. In particular, the sensor assembly 161 islocated at a position such that a carrier head 126 supported by thesupport 128 can position the substrate 10 over the sensor assembly 161.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a polishing apparatus 100′ includes an in-situoptical monitoring system 160′, e.g., a color imaging system. Thein-situ optical monitoring system 160′ is similarly constructed as thein-line optical metrology system 160, but various optical components ofthe sensory assembly 161, e.g., the light source 162, light detector164, diffuser 170, focusing optics 172, and polarizing filter 174, canbe positioned in a recess 122 in the platen 120. The light beam 168 canpass through a window 132 to impinge the surface of the substrate 10 asthe substrate contacts and is being polished by the polishing pad 130.Rotation of the platen 120 causes the sensory assembly 161, and thus thelight beam 168, to sweep across the substrate 10. A 2D image can bereconstructed from a sequence of line images as the sensor assembly 161sweeps below the substrate 10. A stage 180 is not required becausemotion of the sensory assembly 161 is provided by rotation of the platen120.

Referring to FIG. 2, the controller assembles the individual image linesfrom the light detector 164 (whether the in-line metrology system orin-situ monitoring system) into a two-dimensional color image (step200). The as a color camera, the light detector 164 can include separatedetector elements for each of red, blue and green. The two-dimensionalcolor image can include a monochromatic image 204, 206, 208 for each ofthe red, blue and green color channels.

The controller can apply an offset and/or a gain adjustment to theintensity values of the image in each color channel (step 210). Eachcolor channel can have a different offset and/or gain.

To set the gain, a reference substrate, e.g., a bare silicon wafer, canbe imaged by the measured by the system 160, 160′. The gain for eachcolor channel can then be set such that the reference substrate appearsgray in the image. For example, the gain can be set such that the red,green, and blue channels can all give the same 8-bit value, e.g.RGB=(121,121,121) or RGB=(87,87,87). The same reference substrate can beused to perform gain calibration for multiple systems.

Optionally, the image can be normalized (step 220). For example, thedifference between the measured image and a standard predefined imagecan be calculated. For example, the controller can store a backgroundimage for each of the red, green and blue color channels, and thebackground image can be subtracted from the measured image for eachcolor channel. Alternatively, the measured image can be divided by thestandard predefined image.

The image can be filtered to remove low-frequency spatial variations(step 230). In some implementations, the image is transformed from a redgreen blue (RGB) color space to a hue saturation luminance (HSL) colorspace, the filter is applied in the HSL color space, and then the imageis transformed back to the red green blue (RGB) color space. Forexample, in the HSL color space, the luminance channel can filtered toremove low-frequency spatial variations, i.e., hue and saturationchannels are not filtered. In some implementations, the luminancechannel is used to generate the filter, which is then applied to thered, green and blue images.

In some implementations, the smoothing is performed only along the firstaxis. For example, the luminance values of the pixels along thedirection of travel 186 can be averaged together to provide an averageluminance value that is a function of just the position along the firstaxis. Then each row of image pixels can be divided by the correspondingportion of the average luminance value that is a function of theposition along the first axis.

Color correction can be performed to increase the color contrast in theimage (step 235). Although illustrated as after filter of step 230, thecolor correction could be performed before filtering but afternormalization of step 220. In addition, the color correction can beperformed later, e.g., before calculation of the thickness (in step270).

Color correction can be performed by multiplying the values in the colorspace by a color correction matrix. This can be represented as theoperation I_(CORR)=T_(ORIG)×CCM, where I_(ORIG) is the original,uncorrected image, CCM is a color correction matrix, and I_(CORR) is thecorrected image.

More formally, color correction can be performed as matrixmultiplication represented by the following:

$\begin{matrix}{\begin{bmatrix}I_{C\; 1} \\I_{C\; 2} \\I_{C\; 3}\end{bmatrix} = {\begin{bmatrix}{a\; 1\; 1} & {a\; 1\; 2} & {a\; 1\; 3} \\{a\; 2\; 1} & {a\; 2\; 2} & {a\; 2\; 3} \\{a\; 31} & {a\; 32} & {a\; 33}\end{bmatrix}\begin{bmatrix}I_{O\; 1} \\I_{O\; 2} \\I_{O\; 3}\end{bmatrix}}} & ( {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} )\end{matrix}$

where I_(O1), I_(O2) and I_(O3) are the original values from the threecolor channels of the color space (e.g., the HSL color space, RGB colorspace, etc.), a11 . . . a33 are values of the color correction matrix,and I_(C1), I_(C2) and I_(C3) are the corrected values for the threecolor channels of the color space. Instead of a color correction matrixwith constant values, gamma functions can be used.

As shown by FIGS. 9A and 9B, application of the color correction causesthe scale of the histogram to increase. This can make determination ofthe layer thickness easier, as distinguishing different points in thehistogram can become easier due to the larger separation. As a result,thickness resolution can be enhanced.

The color correction matrix can be generated by making a color image ofa reference substrate that has a variety of preselected colors. Thevalue for each color channel is measured, and the best matrix fortransforming the low contrast image to a higher contrast image is thencalculated.

The controller can use image processing techniques to analyze the imageto locate a wafer orientation feature 16, e.g., a wafer notch or waferflat, on the substrate 10 (see FIG. 4) (step 240). Image processingtechniques can also be used to locate a center 18 of the substrate 10(see FIG. 4).

Based on this data, the image is transformed, e.g., scaled and/orrotated and/or translated, into a standard image coordinate frame (step250). For example, the image can be translated so that the wafer centeris at the center point of the image and/or the image can be scaled sothat the edge of the substrate is at the edge of the image, and/or theimage can be rotated so that there is a 0° angle between the x-axis ofthe image and the radial segment connecting the wafer center and thewafer orientation feature.

Optionally, an image mask can applied to screen out portions of theimage data (step 260). For example, referring to FIG. 3, a typicalsubstrate 10 includes multiple dies 12. Scribe lines 14 can separate thedies 12. For some applications, it may be useful to process only imagedata corresponding to the dies. In this case, referring to FIG. 4, animage mask can be stored by the controller, with unmasked region 22corresponding in spatial position to the dies 12 and masked region 24corresponding to the scribe lines 14. Image data corresponding to themasked region 24 is not processed or not used during the thresholdingstep. Alternatively, the masked region 24 could correspond to the diesso that the unmasked region corresponds to the scribe lines, or theunmasked region could be only a portion of each die with a remainder ofeach die being masked, or the unmasked region could be specific die ordies with remaining dies and scribe lines being masked, the unmaskedregion could be just a portion of specific die or dies, with a remainderof each die the substrate being masked. In some implementations, theuser can define the mask using a graphical user interface on thecontroller 190.

The color data at this stage can be used to calculate a valuerepresentative of thickness (step 270). This value could be a thickness,or an amount of material removed, or a value indicating the amount ofprogress through the polishing process (e.g., as compared to a referencepolishing process). The calculation can be performed for each unmaskedpixel in the image. This value can then be used in a feed-forward orfeed-back algorithm use to control polishing parameters, providingimproved thickness uniformity. For example, the value for each pixel canbe compared to a target value to generate an error signal image, andthis error signal image can be used for feed-forward or feed-backcontrol.

Some background to assist in understanding of the calculation of thevalue representative will be discussed. For any given pixel from thecolor image, a pair of values corresponding to two color channels can beextracted from the color data for the given pixel. Thus, each pair ofvalues can define a coordinate in a coordinate space of a first colorchannel and a different second color channel. Possible color channelsinclude hue, saturation, luminosity, X, Y, Z (e.g., from the CIE 1931XYZ color space), red chromaticity, green chromaticity, and bluechromaticity. These values for these color channels can be calculatedfrom tuples of values from other channels (e.g., X, Y and Z can becalculated from R, G and B), according to known algorithms.

Referring to FIG. 5, for example, when polishing begins, the pair ofvalues (e.g., V1 ₀, V2 ₀) defines an initial coordinate 502 in thecoordinate space 500 of the two color channels. However, because thespectrum of reflected light changes as polishing progresses, the colorcomposition of the light changes, and the values (V1, V2) in the twocolor channels will change. Consequently the location of the coordinatewithin the coordinate space of the two color channels will change aspolishing progresses, tracing out a path 504 in the coordinate space500.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, to calculate the value representative ofthickness, a predetermined path 604 in the coordinate space 500 of thetwo color channels is stored (step 710), e.g., in a memory of thecontroller 190. The predetermined path is generated prior to measurementof the substrate. The path 404 can proceed from a starting coordinate402 to an end coordinate 406. The path 404 can represent an entirepolishing process, with the starting coordinate 402 corresponding to astarting thickness for the layer on the substrate and the end coordinatecorresponding to a final thickness for the layer. Alternatively, thepath can represent just a portion of a polishing process, e.g., theexpected distribution of layer thicknesses across a substrate at thepolishing endpoint.

In some implementations, to generate the predetermined path 404, aset-up substrate is polished to approximately the target thickness thatwill be used for device substrates. A color image of the set-upsubstrate is obtained using the optical metrology system 160 or opticalmonitoring system 160′. Since the polishing rate across the substrate istypically not uniform, different locations on the substrate will havedifferent thicknesses, and thus reflect different colors, and thus havedifferent coordinates with in the coordinate space of the first colorchannel and the second color channel.

Referring to FIG. 8, a two-dimensional (2D) histogram is computed usingpixels contained within the unmasked regions. That is, using thecolor-corrected color image, a scatter plot 800 is generated in thecoordinate space of the first color channel and the second color channelusing the coordinate values for some or all of the pixels from theunmasked portions of the set-up substrate. Each point 802 in the scatterplot is the pair of values (V1, V2) for the two color channels for aparticular pixel. The scatter plot 800 can be displayed on a display ofthe controller 190 or another computer.

As noted above, possible color channels include hue, saturation,luminosity, X, Y, Z (e.g., from the CIE 1931 XYZ color space), redchromaticity, green chromaticity, and blue chromaticity. In someimplementations, the first color channel is a red chromaticity (r) andthe second color channel is a green chromaticity (g) which can bedefined by

$r = {{\frac{R}{R + G + B}\mspace{20mu} {and}{\; \mspace{14mu}}g} = \frac{R}{R + G + B}}$

respectively, where R, G and B are the intensity values for the red,green and blue color channels of the color image.

The thickness path 604 can be created manually by a user, e.g., theoperator of the semiconductor manufacturing facility, using a graphicaluser interface in conjunction with a computer, e.g., the controller 190.For example, while the scatter plot is being displayed, the user canmanually construct a path that follows and overlies the scatter plot,e.g., using mouse operations to click on selected points of the displayin the scatter plot.

Alternatively, the thickness path 604 can be generated automaticallyusing software that is designed to analyze the set of coordinates in thescatter plot and generate a path that fits the points in the scatterplot 800, e.g., using topological skeletonization.

The thickness path 604 can be provided by a variety of functions, e.g.,using a single line, a polyline, one or more circular arcs, one or moreBezier curves, and the like. In some implementations, the thickness path604 is provided by a polyline, which is a set of line segments drawnbetween discrete points in the coordinate space.

Returning to FIG. 6, a function provides a relationship betweenpositions on the predetermined thickness path 604 and thickness values.For example, the controller 190 can store a first thickness value for astarting point 602 of the predetermined thickness path 604, and a secondthickness value for the ending point 606 of the predetermined thicknesspath 604. The first and second thickness values can be obtained by usinga conventional thickness metrology system to measure the thickness ofthe substrate layer at the locations corresponding to the pixels thatprovide the points 802 closest to the starting point 602 and endingpoint 606, respectively.

In operation, the controller 190 can calculate a value representing thethickness at a given point 610 on the path 604 by interpolating betweenthe first and second values based on the distance along the path 604from the starting point 602 to the given point 610. For example, if thecontroller could calculate a thickness T of a given point 610 accordingto

$T = {{T\; 1} + {\frac{D}{L}( {{T\; 2} - {T\; 1}} )}}$

where T1 is the value for the starting point 602, T2 is the thicknessfor the ending point 606, L is the total distance along the path betweenthe starting point 602 and the ending point 606, and D is the distancealong the path between the starting point 602 and the given point 610.

As another example, the controller 190 can store a thickness value foreach vertex of on the predetermined thickness path 604, and calculate avalue representing thickness for a given point on the path based oninterpolation between the two nearest vertices. For this configuration,the various values for the vertexes can be obtained by using aconventional thickness metrology system to measure the thickness of thesubstrate layer at the locations corresponding to the pixels thatprovide the points 802 closest to the vertexes.

Other functions relating the position on the path to thickness arepossible.

In addition, rather measure the thickness of the set-up substrate usinga metrology system, the thickness values could be obtained calculatedbased on an optical model.

The thickness values can be actual thickness value if one usestheoretical simulation or empirical learning based on a known “setup”wafer. Alternatively, the thickness value at a given point on thepredetermined thickness path can be a relative value, e.g., relative toa degree of polishing of the substrate. This later value can be scaledin a downstream process to obtain an empirical value or can be usedsimply to express increases or decreases in thickness without specifyingabsolute thickness values.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, for the pixel being analyzed from the imageof the substrate, the values for the two color channels are extractedfrom the color data for that pixel (step 720). This provides acoordinate 620 in the coordinate system 600 of the two color channels.

Next, the point, e.g., point 610, on the predetermined thickness path604 that is closest to the coordinate 620 for the pixel is calculated(step 730). In this context, “closest” does not necessarily indicategeometrical perfection. The “closest” point could be defined in variousways, and limitations of processing power, selection of search functionfor ease of calculation, presence of multiple local maxima in the searchfunction, and such can prevent determination of a geometrical ideal, butstill provide results that are good enough for use. In someimplementations, the closest point is defined as the point on thethickness path 604 which defines the normal vector to the thickness paththat passes through the coordinate 620 for the pixel. In someimplementations, the closest point is calculated by minimizing aEuclidean distance.

Then the value representing thickness is calculated from the functionbased on the position of the point 610 on the path 604, as discussedabove (step 740). The closest point is not necessarily one of thevertexes points of the polyline. As noted above, in this case,interpolation can be used to obtain the thickness value (e.g. based onsimple linear interpolation between the nearest vertexes of thepolyline).

By iterating steps 720-740 for some or all of the pixels in the colorimage, a map of the thickness of the substrate layer can be generated.

For some layer stacks on the substrate, the predetermined thickness pathwill cross itself, which leads to a situation referred to as adegeneracy. A degenerate point (e.g., point 650) on the predeterminedthickness path has two or more thickness values associated with it.Consequently, without some additional information it may not be possibleto know which thickness value is the correct value. However, it ispossible to analyze the properties of a cluster of coordinatesassociated with pixels from a given physical region on the substrate,e.g., within a given die, and resolve the degeneracy using thisadditional information. For example, measurements within a given smallregion of the substrate can be assumed to not vary significantly, andthus would occupy a smaller section along of the scatter plot, i.e.,would not extend along both branches.

As such, the controller can analyze a cluster of coordinates associatedwith pixels from a given physical region on the substrate surroundingthe pixel for which the degeneracy needs to be resolved. In particular,the controller can determine a major axis of the cluster in thecoordinate space. The branch of the predetermined thickness path that ismost closely parallel to the major axis of the cluster can be selectedand used to calculate the value representing thickness.

Returning to FIG. 2, optionally a uniformity analysis can be performedfor each region of the substrate, e.g., each die, or for the entireimage (step 280). For example, the value for each pixel can be comparedto a target value, and the total number of “failing” pixels within adie, i.e., pixels that do not meet the target value, can be calculatedfor the die. This total can be compared to a threshold to determinewhether the die is acceptable, e.g., if the total is less than thethreshold then the die is marked as acceptable. This gives a pass/failindication for each die.

As another example, the total number of “failing” pixels within theunmasked region of the substrate can be calculated. This total can becompared to a threshold to determine whether the substrate isacceptable, e.g., if the total is less than the threshold then thesubstrate is marked as acceptable. The threshold can be set by a user.This gives a pass/fail indication for the substrate.

Where a die or a wafer is determined to “fail”, the controller 190 cangenerate an alert or cause the polishing system 100 to take correctiveaction. For example, an audible or visual alert can be generated, or adata file can be generated indicating that a particular die is notusable. As another example, a substrate could be sent back for rework.

In contrast to spectrographic processing, in which a pixel typically isrepresented by 1024 or more intensity values, in a color image a pixelcan be represented by just three intensity values (red, green and blue),and just two color channels are needed for the calculation.Consequently, the computational load to process the color image issignificantly lower.

However, in some implementations the light detector 164 is aspectrometer rather than a color camera. For example, the light detectorcan include a hyperspectral camera. Such spectral camera can generateintensity values for 30-200, e.g., 100, different wavelengths for eachpixel. Then, rather than pairs of values in a 2-dimensional color spaceas discussed above, the technique (steps 210-270) is applied to an imagehaving an N-dimensional color space with N color channels, where N issignificantly larger than 2, e.g., 10 to 1000 dimensions. For example,the thickness path 604 can be a path in the N-dimensional color space.

In some implementations, the dimensionality of the color space and thenumber of color channels is not reduced during the subsequent steps;each dimension corresponds to a wavelength for which the intensity valueis measured by the hyperspectral camera. In some implementations, thedimensionality of the color space and the number of channels is reduced,e.g., by a factor of 10 to 100, e.g., down to 10-100 dimensions andchannels. The number of channels can be reduced by selecting onlycertain channels, e.g., certain wavelengths, or by combining channels,e.g., combining, such as averaging, intensity values measured formultiple wavelengths. In general, a larger number of channels reducesthe likelihood of degeneracy in the path, but has a larger computerprocessing cost. An appropriate number of channels can be determinedempirically.

Another technique to increase the dimensionality of the color image isto use multiple light beams with different angles of incidence. Exceptas noted below, such an embodiment can be configured similarly to FIGS.1A and 1B. Referring to FIG. 1C, the sensor assembly 161 (of either thein-line metrology system 160 or the in-situ monitoring system 160′) caninclude multiple light sources, e.g., two light sources 162 a, 162 b.Each light source generates a light beam, e.g., light beams 168 a and168 b, that is directed toward the substrate 10 with a different angleof incidence. The angles of incidence of the light beams 168 a and 168 bcan be at least 5° apart, e.g., at least 10° apart, e.g., at least 20°apart. As shown in FIG. 1C, the light beams 168 a, 168 b can impinge thesame region on the substrate 10, e.g., be coincident on the substrate10. Alternatively, the light beams can impinge different regions, e.g.,regions that partially but not entirely over overlap, or regions that donot overlap.

The light beams 168 a, 168 b are reflected from the substrate 10, andintensity values of multiple colors are measured at multiple pixels bytwo different arrays of detector elements 178 a, 178 b, respectively. Asshown in FIG. 1C, the detector elements 178 a, 178 b can be provided bydifferent light detectors 164 a, 164 b. For example, the two detectorscould 164 a, 164 b could each be a color line-scan camera. However, insome implementations there is a single light detector with atwo-dimensional array, and the light beams 168 a, 168 b impingedifferent regions of the array of the detector. For example, thedetector could be a 2D color camera.

The use of two light beams with different angles of incidenceeffectively doubles the dimensionality of the color image. For example,using two light beams 168 a, 168 b with each light detector 164 a, 164 bbeing a color camera, each detector will output a color image with theecolor channels (e.g., red, blue and green color channels, respectively),for a total of six color channels. This provides a larger number ofchannels and reduces the likelihood of degeneracy in the path, but stillhas a manageable processing cost.

Although FIG. 1C illustrates each light beam 168 a, 168 b as having itsown optical components, e.g., diffuser 170, focusing optics 172 andpolarizer 174, it is also possible for the beams to share somecomponents. For example, a single diffuser 170 and/or a single polarizer174 could be placed in the path of both light beams 168 a, 168 b.Similarly, although multiple light sources 162 a, 162 b are shown, lightfrom a single light source could be split, e.g., by a partiallyreflective mirror, into the multiple beams.

The color correction can be scaled with the number of channels. For thecolor correction step, instead of a I_(ORIG) being a 1×3 matrix and theCCM being a 3×3 matrix, I_(ORIG) can be a 1×N matrix and the CCM can bea N×N matrix. For example, for the embodiment of two light beamsincident at different angles and measured by two color cameras, I_(ORIG)can be a 1×6 matrix and the CCM can be a 6×6 matrix.

In general, data such as the calculated thickness of the layer on thesubstrate can be used to control one or more operation parameters of theCMP apparatus. Operational parameters include, for example, platenrotational velocity, substrate rotational velocity, the polishing pathof the substrate, the substrate speed across the plate, the pressureexerted on the substrate, slurry composition, slurry flow rate, andtemperature at the substrate surface. Operational parameters can becontrolled real-time, and can be automatically adjusted without the needfor further human intervention.

As used in the instant specification, the term substrate can include,for example, a product substrate (e.g., which includes multiple memoryor processor dies), a test substrate, a bare substrate, and a gatingsubstrate. The substrate can be at various stages of integrated circuitfabrication, e.g., the substrate can be a bare wafer, or it can includeone or more deposited and/or patterned layers. The term substrate caninclude circular disks and rectangular sheets.

However, the color image processing technique described above can beparticularly useful in the context of 3D vertical NAND (VNAND) flashmemory. In particular, the layer stack used in fabrication of VNAND isso complicated that current metrology methods (e.g., Nova spectrumanalysis) may be unable to perform with sufficiently reliability indetecting regions of improper thickness. In contrast, the color imageprocessing technique can have superior throughput.

Embodiments of the invention and all of the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructural means disclosed in this specification and structuralequivalents thereof, or in combinations of them. Embodiments of theinvention can be implemented as one or more computer program products,i.e., one or more computer programs tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine readable storage media, for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., aprogrammable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers.

Terms of relative positioning are used to denote positioning ofcomponents of the system relative to each other, not necessarily withrespect to gravity; it should be understood that the polishing surfaceand substrate can be held in a vertical orientation or some otherorientations.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made. For example

-   -   Rather than a line scan camera, a camera that images the entire        substrate could be used. In this case, motion of the camera        relative to the substrate is not needed.    -   The camera could cover less than the entire width of the        substrate. In this case, the camera would need to undergo motion        in two perpendicular directions, e.g., be supported on an X-Y        stage, in order to scan the entire substrate.    -   The light source could illuminate the entire substrate. In this        case, the light source need not move relative to the substrate.    -   Although coordinates represented by pairs of values in a        2-dimensional coordinate space are discussed above, the        technique is applicable to coordinate spaces with three or more        dimensions defined by three or more color channels.    -   The sensory assembly need not an in-line system positioned        between polishing stations or between a polishing station and a        transfer station. For example, the sensor assembly could be        positioned within the transfer station, positioned in a cassette        interface unit, or be a stand-alone system.    -   The uniformity analysis step is optional. For example, the image        generated by applying the threshold transformation can be fed        into a feed-forward process to adjust a later processing step        for the substrate, or into a feed-back process to adjust the        processing step for a subsequent substrate.    -   For in-situ measurements, rather than construct an image, the        monitoring system could simply detect the color of a white light        beam reflected from a spot on the substrate, and use this color        data to determine the thickness at that spot using the        techniques described above.    -   Although the description has focused on polishing, the        techniques can be applied to other sorts of semiconductor        fabrication processes that add or remove layers and that can be        optically monitored, such as etching, e.g., wet or dry etching,        deposition, e.g., chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical        vapor deposition (PVD), or atomic layer deposition (ALD),        spin-on dielectric, or photoresist coaters.

Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for obtaining a measurementrepresentative of a thickness of a layer on a substrate, comprising: asupport to hold a substrate for integrated circuit fabrication; anoptical assembly to capture a first color image of at least a portion ofthe substrate held by the support with light impinging the substrate ata first angle of incidence and a second color image of the at least aportion of the substrate held by the support with light impinging thesubstrate at a different second angle of incidence; and a controllerconfigured to receive the first color image and the second color imagefrom the optical assembly, store a function that provides a valuerepresentative of a thickness as a function of position along apredetermined path in a coordinate space of at least four dimensionsincluding a first color channel and a second color channel from thefirst color image and a third color channel and a fourth color channelfrom the second color image, for a pixel of the first color image and acorresponding pixel in the second color image, determine a coordinate inthe coordinate space from color data in the first color image for thepixel and the color data in the second color image for the correspondingpixel, determine a position of a point on the predetermined path that isclosest to the coordinate, and calculate a value representative of athickness from the function and the position of the point on thepredetermined path.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the coordinatespace is four-dimensional.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thecoordinate space is six-dimensional.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first color channel and the second color channel are selected fromthe group of color channels comprising hue, saturation, luminosity, X,Y, Z, red chromaticity, green chromaticity, and blue chromaticity forthe first color image and third color channel and the fourth colorchannel are selected from the group of color channels comprising hue,saturation, luminosity, X, Y, Z, red chromaticity, green chromaticity,and blue chromaticity for the second color image.
 5. The system of claim4, wherein the first color channel and third color channel are redchromaticities, and the second color channel and the fourth colorchannel are green chromaticities.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst angle of incidence and the second angle of incidence are bothbetween about 20° to 85°.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstangle of incidence is at least 5° larger than the second angle ofincidence.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first angle ofincidence is at least 10° larger than the second angle of incidence. 9.A computer program product for obtaining a measurement representative ofa thickness of a layer on a substrate, the computer program producttangibly embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium,comprising instructions for causing a processor to: receive a firstcolor image of the substrate and a second color image of the substratefrom one or more cameras; store a function that provides a valuerepresentative of a thickness as a function of a position on apredetermined path in a coordinate space of at least four dimensionsincluding a first color channel and a second color channel from thefirst color image and a third color channel and a fourth color channelfrom the second color image; for a pixel of the first color image and acorresponding pixel in the second color image, determine a coordinate inthe coordinate space from color data in the first color image for thepixel and the color data in the second color image for the correspondingpixel; determine a position of a point on the predetermined path that isclosest to the coordinate; and calculate a value representative of athickness of a layer on the substrate from the function and the positionof the point on the predetermined path.
 10. A method of obtaining ameasurement representative of a thickness of a layer on a substrate,comprising: positioning a substrate for integrated circuit fabricationin view of a color camera; generating a first color image of thesubstrate and a second color image of the substrate using one or morecolor cameras, the first color image generated with light impinging thesubstrate at a first angle of incidence and the second color imagegenerated with light impinging the substrate at a different second angleof incidence; storing a function that provides a value representative ofa thickness as a function of a position on a predetermined path in acoordinate space of at least four dimensions including a first colorchannel and a second color channel from the first color image and athird color channel and a fourth color channel from the second colorimage; for a pixel of the first color image and a corresponding pixel inthe second color image, determining a coordinate in the coordinate spacefrom color data in the first color image for the pixel and the colordata in the second color image for the corresponding pixel; determininga position of a point on the predetermined path that is closest to thecoordinate; and calculating a value representative of a thickness of alayer on the substrate from the function and the position of the pointon the predetermined path.
 11. A polishing system, comprising: apolishing station including a platen to support a polishing pad; asupport to hold a substrate; an in-line metrology station to measure thesubstrate before or after polishing of a surface of the substrate in thepolishing station, the in-line metrology station including one or moreelongated white light sources each having a longitudinal axis andconfigured to direct light toward the substrate at a non-zero incidenceangle to form an illuminated region on the substrate that extends alonga first axis during scanning of the substrate, a first color line-scancamera having detector elements arranged to receive light reflected fromthe substrate that impinged the substrate at a first angle of incidenceand form an image portion that extends along the first axis duringscanning of the substrate, a second color line-scan camera havingdetector elements arranged to receive light reflected from the substratethat impinged the substrate at a different, second angle of incidenceand form a second image portion that extends along the first axis duringscanning of the substrate, a frame supporting the one or more lightsources, the first color line-scan camera and the second color line-scancamera, and a motor to cause relative motion between the frame and thesupport along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis to cause theone or more light sources, the first color line-scan camera and thesecond color line-scan camera to scan across the substrate; and acontroller configured to receive color data from the first colorline-scan camera and the second color line-scan camera, to generate afirst 2-dimensional color image from color data from the first colorline-scan camera and generate a second 2-dimensional color image fromcolor data from the second color line-scan camera, and to controlpolishing at the polishing station based on the first 2-dimensionalcolor image and the second 2-dimensional color image.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, comprising one or more diffusers in a path of light betweenthe one or more elongated white light sources and the substrate.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the first angle of incidence and the secondangle of incidence are both between about 5° and 85°.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the first angle of incidence and the second angle ofincidence are both between about 20° and 75°.
 15. The system of claim11, wherein the first angle of incidence is at least 5° larger than thesecond angle of incidence.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the firstangle of incidence is at least 10° larger than the second angle ofincidence.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first color line-scancamera and the second line-scan camera are configured to image acoincident region on the substrate.
 18. The system of claim 11, whereinthe one or more elongated light sources comprise a first elongated lightsource to generate the light that impinges the substrate at the firstangle of incidence and a second elongated light source to generate thelight that impinges the substrate at the second angle of incidence. 19.The system of claim 11, wherein the frame is fixed and the motor iscoupled to the support and the controller is configured to cause themotor to move the support while the one or more elongated light sourcesand the first color line scan camera and second color line scan cameraremain stationary to scan across the substrate.